Making Every Day Count
by Ginger S
Summary: Mike Stoker reflects on a past call and Roy helps him realize he was not responsible for the outcome.


**Making Every Day Count**

**By GCS**

_**Emergency is not mine and neither are the characters. I don't make any money from them, but I do borrow them for entertainment.**_

Exhaustion is no stranger to a fire fighter; sore muscles a regular occurrence.

Today brought on one of those busy shifts where all the guys at 51's crowded into the locker room waiting for a turn in the shower. They had just finished working for four hours on an apartment fire.

Soot covered their clothes and left streaks down their faces where sweat and tears had made paths through the grime. Ash had settled in their hair. No matter how much water they drank to rehydrate, they couldn't seem to get the gritty taste from their mouths.

Roy stepped from the small shower stall and quickly wrapped a towel around his waist. "Next."

Chet had already shed his turnouts and stood waiting by the door. He hastily disappeared behind the frosted glass door and turned on the water.

Marco sat on the bench beside his locker waiting and hoping there would be enough hot water for him when Chet finished his shower.

"Where's Johnny?" Roy asked the Latino man.

"He headed out back to wait. He said the smog smelled better than we did," Marco explained with a soft chuckle.

Roy finished donning a clean uniform, tossed his wet towels into the hamper and left to check on his partner. Crossing the bay to the kitchen in search of coffee or water or both, he glanced out the back bay doors at his best friend who had climbed on the hood of his Land Rover and reclined on the windshield.

Entering the dayroom, he met face to face with Captain Stanley who customarily headed to his office to work on the incident report from the fire. He looked over his crewman as he passed by "Well you look better."

"Thanks Cap, I feel better too." He continued his trek to the sink grabbing a glass from the drain tray and filling it with tap water. He turned and leaned against the cabinet drinking. The cool liquid felt good to his parched throat.

"That was a bad one," Mike Stoker said from his seat at the table.

Roy nodded and continued sipping his water.

"Cap said three guys from 36's had to be taken to Rampart for smoke inhalation; two from 127's for heat exhaustion. I guess we were lucky." Mike sat his cup on the table and slowly turned it between his hands.

Roy noticed sadness in the Engineer's eyes. He looked a little pale and had stress lines around his eyes. "You okay Mike?"

"Huh?" Mike looked up as though he had forgotten Roy was even in the room. "Oh yeah, I'm okay Roy, just thinking."

"What about?" Roy turned and took a coffee cup down from the cabinet, filled it, walked over to the table, and pulled out the chair across from Mike. "Want to talk about it?" He asked when Mike hadn't responded. He lowered himself into the chair prepared to wait for Mike to open up.

Mike looked up intending to thank Roy for the offer and decline, but seeing the calm sincerity in his eyes, he decided maybe now was a good time to talk. "It happened a long time ago." He paused and began turning the cup again.

Roy waited until he was sure Mike showed no sigh of continuing, so he reached across the table and took Mike's now empty cup and got up to refill it and his. Returning to the table he took a guess at what might be bothering Mike, "Where you an Engineer at the time?"

Mike's eyes shot up confirming Roy's suspicion. He sighed, "Yeah." He took a deep breath, "I had just gotten my first assignment as an Engineer. I'd been at the station for about three months." He sipped his coffee.

_---He pulled the Engine along side the hydrant and waited long enough for the lineman to jump down and pull the feeder hose. Then he moved into position in front of the structure where his Captain instructed him. Moving quickly from the driver's seat he rounded the front of the rig and down the side to the control panel, quickly set the gauges, opened the pump valve, and signaled for the lineman to release the water. The he watched to see which hoses the linemen pulled so he could discharge those lines. The whole process took about two minutes to complete and the team was ready to begin their assault on the raging beast.---_

"So you were still pretty green as an Engineer?" Roy sat his now empty cup on the table and waited for Mike to continue.

"Well I knew what I was doing, or at least I thought I did." Mike gave him a small uneasy smile. Talking was never Mike's forte so Roy gave him plenty of time to tell his story. "Anyway we got to the call and the linemen pulled the lines and went inside with Cap to join the other crews. The building resembled the one from today."

Roy's eyes shown with understanding; now he had an idea of what had upset the Engineer. "So that fire today brought back memories?"

"Yeah."

"Fire fighters were injured?"

Mike looked up and nodded. His eyes returned to his hands. "It was a really bad fire. Some of the residents were still inside." He grew very quiet.

Roy waited for a few minutes and then reached for Mike's cup. "More coffee?" He asked trying to keep things moving.

"No thanks." Mike looked up again meeting Roy's eyes. "We lost pressure, the hydrant, the rig, all of it. Suddenly everyone scrambled to switch from the hydrants to the tanks. It takes a few minutes, ya know?"

"Then what happened?" Roy encouraged.

"In that short amount of time they lost what control of the fire they had."

_---The Battalion Chief yelled orders into his HT, "All Engineers switch to tanks. We have no pressure. LA, we've lost all pressure to the hydrants. We need pressure restored."_

_Mike scrambled by his Engine, his hands dancing across the controls, switching from the hydrant to the reserve tank, flipping controls, turning knobs and willing the hoses to once again fill. He froze. Nothing happened. He stared at the controls for a few seconds. What had he forgotten? The procedure raced through his mind. He'd done everything, but nothing was happening. He turned and glanced at the flames that reached skyward from the top floor windows. A man appeared in a window on the far side of the top floor. He helped a small child out onto the ledge all the while screaming for help. A ladder truck tried desperately to get extended up in time to rescue them. Then without warning, an explosion rocked the building from inside that apartment, probably from the gas stove. The man disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke just as a fireman reached the child. Flames began shooting out of the window where a few seconds ago the man had stood._

_Then he felt the hose tighten in his hand. The pumps now forced the water into the hoses.---_

Returning to the present Mike looked at Roy. "I had done it correctly, but in that few seconds of waiting for the pressure to build a lifetime seemed to pass before my eyes."

Roy knew the father had certainly perished. "What happened to the child?"

"He uh..he was reunited with his mother. She had been at the market. They moved away. After that…I don't know."

"Anyone else injured?"

"Several fire fighters like today."

"That must have been difficult to see." Roy leaned back in his chair and laid his palms on the table.

Mike sighed deeply, "Kind of reminds a guy to make every day count. I practiced and practiced the gauge drills after that. I never want to feel like I might have messed up somehow, like I might be responsible if something like that happens again."

"What happened with the hydrants?"

"What?" Mike looked at him confused.

"The water pressure, what happened?"

"Would you believe a rookie with the water department flipped the wrong switch and cut water pressure for half of the city? Stupid mistake," Mike nodded his head.

"So Mike…" Roy paused until Mike looked at him. "You weren't responsible for losing control of that fire."

"I know that Roy. I mean logically I couldn't have been. Our's was not the only Engine company there. It's just that…" He paused.

"You wish things had gone differently." Roy said quietly.

"Yeah….thanks Roy."

"Just so you know Mike, I wouldn't want any other Engineer in the department backing me up on a fire." He rose from his chair. "I'm gonna go see if I can get Johnny in the shower before we get called out. You okay?" He moved to the sink and filled another glass with water.

"I'm good." Mike got up and took his cup to the sink. "Besides I have to get started on dinner." He shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"That sounds good to me." Roy said as he left the kitchen.

Chet and Marco were just walking across the bay. "Shower's ready for Johnny," Marco called to Roy who waved his understanding.

Johnny raised his arm from his eyes and looked up at the noise. "My turn?"

"Here I brought you some water." Roy handed him the glass.

"Thanks. You and Mike have a good talk?"

"How'd you know?" Roy looked at Johnny quizzically.

"I came in for a drink and heard you guys talking. I thought he needed to finish, so I left." He shrugged and turned his glass up and drank heartily. "Thanks." He handed the glass to Roy and slid off the Rover's hood. "I'll be out in a few minutes." He walked across the lot. "You're a good man Pally."


End file.
